Mama’s Cha Ca

Store is clean, good service, pricing was reasonable. I'm like this small take out restaurant.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 4

This place has the best banh canh chả cá. The broth is very clean and smooth, no msg.

Food: 5

Service: 5

This is primarily a take out place, but they have 2 tables in the courtyard where you can sit, sharing space with Cafe I4 and Quan Bun Co Giao Thao, which seemed closed for good.

The bun rieu was $13 with a chunk of minced crab meat, slices of fish cake, blood curls, tomato slices with plenty of herbs and hot sauce. The broth tasted rich but more with pork bone flavor than pure crab, tasty nonetheless. The proteins are fresh and tasty.

Good food, reasonable prices, quick service. Nice place if you want to sit outside and smoke a bit. Will try their other dishes.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 5

The chả cá is bomb, only place I'll go to get it. Made fresh everyday. They'll wrap it uncooked so you'll just bring it home and cook it. Or you can order cooked ones there. They also have a menu that serve popular Vietnamese noodle dish as well as other foodies.

Very nice lady, good sandwiches :)

Bombastic

I was looking for a place to eat bánh mì chả cá (fish cake sandwich) and I stumbled upon Mama Chả cá. It was a bit hard to find, but it was worth the effort. The place is small and cozy, and the service is friendly and fast. They specialize in chả cá (fish cake) and they make it from scratch with fresh fish. You can buy it by the pound or try their bánh canh chả cá (fish cake noodle soup) or bún riêu chả cá (fish cake crab noodle soup). I ordered the bánh mì chả cá and I was blown away by how delicious it was. The bread was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and the fish cake was moist and flavorful. It had a nice balance of sweetness, saltiness, and spiciness. The sandwich also came with pickled carrots, daikon, cilantro, and jalapeños. It was a generous portion and very satisfying. I highly recommend Mama Chả cá to anyone who loves Vietnamese food or wants to try something different. It is the best place to get chả cá in town, and maybe even in California. The quality is superb, the service is excellent, and the atmosphere is cozy. I can't wait to go back and try their other dishes.